Rituals, Threesomes, and Alien Planets
by LindsayR
Summary: Faith fell through a portal, only to be rescued by the last people she ever espected. BuffySGA Crossover.


Rituals, Threesomes, and Alien Planets

By LindsayR

Crossover: BtVS/Stargate Atlantis

Pairing: Faith/John Sheppard/Ronon Dex

Timeline: BtVS post Season 7

Stargate Atlantis – no real timeframe.

Stargate SG-1 – Landry never took over for O'Neill but Mitchell and Vala are part of SG-1. They are only in it briefly.

Summary: Faith fell through a portal only to be rescued by the last people she ever expected.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

Author's Note. I've never been great at writing Faith and this is my first attempt at anything SG related. Please be kind. Feedback is always appreciated.

The first time they came into the village, Faith thought she was hallucinating. After being stuck in the strange dimension for two months she was starting to think that the Scoobies would never going to find her. And then the military showed up. Airforce if the wings on the leader were anything to go by. She'd done enough military men to know the different branches. Still, she was wary. She remembered Buffy's stories about dealing with the Initiative. And if the military were in a different dimension it couldn't be a good thing. So she bided her time and waited until they came back, to try and negotiate with the elders of the village for trade agreements.

"Faith, they have come again and we have been chosen to serve," Gita, the girl with whom she shared a hut gushed. "We must prepare."

Faith watched the girl don her serving attire and she did the same with the clothes that Gita set out for her, slipping on the soft buckskin halter top that was backless except for the ties that held it in place. She also pulled on the skirt made of the same material, noticing how short it was and that there was nothing to wear beneath it. She began to pull on her own underwear, but Gita stopped her. "That is not part of the traditional serving attire. It would offend the elders if they knew you were wearing it." Gita took her hand and led her to a table and began to put makeup on her. Dark kohl was smudged around her eyes and some sort of exotic oil was dabbed on her neck, her stomach, and her inner thighs. She nearly jumped when Gita touched her there, having gone without being touched for a lot longer than two months. 'Ever since Robin in Sunnydale. Damn it's been too long,' she thought ruefully.

She put a copper arm band around the upper arm that Gita indicated and then adored herself in the bracelets and anklets sitting in front of her while her roommate did her own makeup. Finally she was ready.

"So this serving thing. Do we serve them food?" Faith asked, as Gita led the way to the Elder Council's hut.

"Yes. It is our duty to sit with the outsiders that the elders indicate and serve them the food of the Goddess with our hands as they conduct trade with the council. Then we all drink the ceremonial wine and the traders join with us to show that an agreement has been reached, one that pleases the Goddess."

"By join with you mean…"

"We take them into our bodies for the approval of the Goddess. And if we are truly lucky she will even bless the joining."

"Bless it how?"

"With children of course. To bear a child of a trader, one who the Goddess accepts is the highest form of honor here. We are lucky to have been chosen."

Faith fell silent. 'Yeah. Lucky.' She followed Gita into the hut, bowing her head and kneeling before the elders. She'd quickly learned that a little bowing was not worth being flayed over. She had scars on her back from the ten lashes she received the first and only time she refused.

"Master Oban, we are here to serve," Gita said, addressing the head of the Council, as she raised her head and held her hands in front of her as if in prayer. Faith copied her, remembering the position from when she was young and lived with her grandmother who dragged her to church every Sunday.

Master Oban nodded at two of the traders and Gita immediately moved to sit with the woman and the younger military guy. He then looked and Faith and nodded toward the other male traders. She rose and joined them, sitting between them on the huge pile of pillows adorning the floor of the hut. At least she got the good looking guys in the group, though the other men weren't bad looking, they just had nothing on the two specimens she was in between.

Dipping her hand into the fruit bowl she plucked a grape and held it to the dark haired man's lips. Her fingers grazed his lips as he took the fruit into his mouth. She shivered from the soft touch of his lips against her fingers. She had definitely gone too long without sex. She copied the movement with the hulk next to her. He was huge, all golden muscle and sinew. His dreads hung down, shadowing his face, but she could see his piercing black eyes watching her every movement. He was silent during the negotiations so she fed him while the dark haired one spoke for the group. After several hours it seemed like things were finally finished when Master Oban spoke.

"Now you all must drink of the ceremonial wine and partake of the Goddess' ritual as a show of trust and honor of the agreement we have made."

The dark haired man's head shot up. "Ritual?"

"Yes. You must drink of the wine and join with the servants that have been chosen," Master Oban said. He gestured to Faith and Gita. "It is the only way to get the Goddess' approval." He frowned at the dark haired man. "It is the way of our people and an offense to the Goddess if the ritual is not performed. We cannot trade with you if the Goddess does not approve."

John sighed. He should have expected it. There was always a catch. Ritualistic sex to secure a trade agreement. Rodney was staring at him in horror even as he tried to ignore the servant girl who had suddenly straddled his lap and was attempting to serve him the ceremonial wine. No doubt there was some sort of aphrodisiac and fertility drug laced in it to make them more willing. He wished Teyla was there to negotiate their way out of the ritual but she'd been called to the Mainland to help the Athosians with a problem.

He glanced at the girl next to him who was reclining on the pillows, Ronon's hand stroking over her stomach. The girl was not like the other people of the village. Her hair was darker, almost black and her skin, though golden tan was still pale by comparison to the rest of the villagers. She wasn't one of them. There really was no choice. They needed this trade agreement. He took the ceremonial goblet and drank a sip, handing it to the girl next. She only hesitated a moment before she drank a bit, as was her duty, and then handed the goblet to Ronon, who drank and tossed the cup away. He nodded to Rodney and Lt. Lorne whose eyes widened before each hesitantly took a drink from the other goblet.

Master Oban smiled. "Gita and Faith will each show you to private quarters. The ritual is private and need not be observed by witnesses."

Faith stood on shaky legs. Whatever was in that wine was making her burn, especially where Gita had put the oil earlier. She wanted…god, she didn't know what she wanted except for someone to touch her, to ease the burn. She grabbed the men's hands and led them out of the Council hut and to the private one set aside for the ritual. The second they were through the door, the big one hauled her to him and kissed her, devouring her mouth with his. It was the most arousing kiss she'd ever been on the receiving end of.

His hands were large and they gripped her hips, pulling her tight against his body until she could feel his arousal pressing into her stomach. She moaned into his mouth and held on all the tighter around his neck, drowning in the fire that was burning through her. She was so absorbed in the kiss that she didn't see the dark haired man watching from near the entrance to the hut, eyes burning with desire as he stripped off his vest and removed his weapons, moving to join them as Ronon pushed the girl toward the primitive bed.

----------

It was the weight pressing her to the bed that caused her to wake up. Her eyes snapped open and she shot out of the bed, pushing past the arms that held her down and falling into a fighting stance, gaze swinging wildly around the room. And then her gaze finally focused on the bed and the two men lying there as naked as she was. The tall one had his gun trained on her.

"Whoa! Whoa. We're not going to hurt you. Ronon, put the gun down," the dark haired guy, military man, said. As the gun was lowered Faith relaxed her stance. "I'm John Sheppard and this is Ronon Dex." He rose and pulled his pants on quickly, handing her the sheet from the bed to cover herself.

She took it with a light laugh. "The name's Faith and its kind of late for modesty don't ya think?" Her eyes shifted to Ronon who was taking his time getting out of the bed and her eyes raked over his body appreciatively.

She watched Sheppard's eyes narrow at the sound of her speech. "So, yeah, I'm thinking that you just realized I'm not from around here. You're from Earth right?"

"I am. Ronon is Satedan."

She waved her hand in dismissal. "Whatever. Look, you've got to take me with you. I've been stuck here for two months, ever since I fell through some whacked out portal." She sighed, frustrated. "Don't get me wrong, I love sex, more than most girls, but I ain't no whore. And if anyone ain't cut out to have kids it's me. I don't know nothin' about being a mom." It hit her then and she stared down at her stomach, her hand grazing it over the rough muslin sheet. "Oh, shit."

Sheppard stepped forward to help her sit down but she shrugged him off. "This is seriously fucked up. I mean, my life on Earth ain't all sunshine and roses but this tops anything weird that's ever happened to me. Possibly knocked up so that you could secure a trade agreement with the village I just happened to find after falling through a portal." She looked at John. "Why is Earth trying to secure a trade agreement with a primitive village in another dimension anyway?"

Well, she wasn't stupid. Her speech might not have been perfect but he figured that was part of how she was raised and didn't question it. He could hear the east coast accent in her words and wondered what she meant by portal. And another dimension? But he knew that could wait until later. He had to figure out a way to take her with them. He couldn't leave her behind, not since she was from Earth. He didn't even want to think about the fact that she was most likely pregnant, considering the way they'd gone at it the night before.

He handed her the outfit she'd worn the day before. "Hurry and dress. I'm going to meet with the Council and see if I can trade for you. If not we're probably going to have to fight our way out of here. Stick with Ronon." He turned to the large Satedan, studiously ignoring the way the large man entered his personal space. He was trying very hard not to think of the things the three of them had done in the bed next to him. He couldn't even look Ronon in the eye. "Get the rest of the team and meet me outside the Elder's hut in five minutes. That's all the longer it should take if they agree to let us take Faith with us." He went to move away, but was shocked when Ronon grabbed his arm. He was being pulled into a breathtaking kiss before he could think.

Finally Ronon released him and he stepped back stunned. "This isn't over Sheppard. We'll talk when we're back in Atlantis."

"Damn that was hot," Faith whispered. She was equally surprised though, when Ronon grabbed her and kissed her just as passionately.

"You're both mine. And I'm yours."

John sighed. "We'll talk back in Atlantis." And then he was gone.

"Atlantis?" Faith asked as Ronon led her out the door just seconds after Sheppard.

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"Who's this?" Rodney asked when Ronon joined them. He was trying very hard not to make eye contact with anyone, especially Major Lorne.

"She's Faith and she's coming with us. Sheppard is trying to trade for her. Be prepared to run."

"Why am I not surprised." McKay rolled his eyes.

"Jeez for someone who got some last night you sure are pretty damn grumpy." Faith laughed at the shocked look on the guy's face. "Guess the big guy here should have mentioned that I'm from Earth."

They made their way quickly to the Elders' hut and were surprised to see Sheppard already there. "We're good to go. Master Oban said that since you weren't born of their people that you're free to leave when you want."

"Then let's blow this joint. The sooner I can get into a pair of leather pants, or hell, even jeans, the happier I'll be."

Sheppard smirked and led the way out of the village toward the gate. Faith followed closely, eyes scanning the terrain as they walked, wondering just where it was they were going. Wherever it was had to be better than where she'd been.

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"It's…pretty."

Sheppard and Major Lorne laughed when she summed up what she thought of the Stargate.

"Pretty! Pretty! It's beautiful. One of the biggest scientific discoveries the world has ever known and you called it pretty."

John glanced at his best friend. "Rodney…"

"She's vastly understating the importance of the Stargate. I can't just let her…"

"McKay!"

Faith glanced between them. "Stargate? As in outerspace? You mean I'm on another freakin' planet! Oh, I'm so kicking Willow's ass for this." They all looked at her strangely, but said nothing.

Major Lorne dialed the gate and Sheppard turned to her. "We'll explain everything when we get back to Atlantis."

"Yeah, about that…I thought Atlantis was at the bottom of the ocean. Ya know, on Earth."

John just looked at her and was about to respond when the Stargate shimmered and Major Lorne stepped through, followed by Rodney and Ronon. "Come on."

He grabbed her hand and she was pulled behind him, through the 'Stargate' and out onto a metal ramp where she was promptly surrounded by soldiers aiming guns at her.

"Aww. I'm touched. All of you came out with your big guns just to greet me. Bet it makes ya feel all manly to point them at someone who couldn't hurt a fly, let alone take on twenty highly trained soldiers."

"Faith," Sheppard hissed at her quietly. "Shut up."

She yanked her hand out of his. "You don't know me well enough to give me orders fly boy. I ain't one of your officers."

John glared at her and she glared right back, eyebrow arching upward in challenge.

"Good god, she's just like him," Rodney muttered, shaking his head. And that's when Elizabeth stepped forward.

----------

She was normally a good judge of character, but the girl standing next to Col. Sheppard threw her a bit. Major Lorne had said that they were bringing someone through the Stargate, but this slip of a girl in front of her was not what she'd expected. Her language was certainly that of Earth, but she couldn't figure out how the girl had ended up on another planet. She saw the standoff and stepped forward.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Elizabeth Weir. Welcome to Atlantis."

Faith turned to the woman, surprised to see a confident, attractive woman in her thirties. She'd expected an older military man to be in charge. "Faith Lehane." She looked around. "So this is Atlantis. Not quite what I expected, especially with it not being on Earth."

"It is quite something. And Atlantis was on Earth. A race of people known as the Ancients moved Atlantis to protect itr."

"But you can contact Earth right. You can send people home through the big ring thing?"

"We can. But first I have a few questions to ask you. Why don't we debrief in the conference room? John?"

"Yeah, let's get this over with."

And yet again, Faith found herself being led into the unknown by people she didn't know, but for some reason felt she could trust.

----------

Once everyone was seated around the table, Faith immediately tuned out the discussion of what happened on Banatu. It wasn't until the science geek nudged her, hard, with his elbow that she snapped out of her daze and focused on Dr. Weir, who had apparently been trying to get her attention.

The woman smiled and Faith immediately felt at ease. Dr. Weir felt a lot like her first watcher. It put her at ease in a situation where she should have been extremely wary. "Sorry, doc. Got a little lost for a second."

"It's quite alright Faith. Debriefings can be quite tedious, even for those of us who are used to them."

Faith laughed. "I don't know, I'd never call debriefing anybody tedious." The innuedo that laced her words was palpable and had all of the men in the room shifting uncomfortably in their chairs. Dr. Weir graced her with an arched eyebrow and a slighly repremanding look. "What did ya want to know?"

"By now you've realized that we are not on Earth and that the United States government has known for some time how to travel between different planets in different galaxies. What I need to know is if there is anyone you would like our command base on Earth to contact in regards to your well being. They won't be told where you are or anything about the Stargate but they can be told the you are safe and out of harm's way and that you will be free to come home within a few days."

Faith didn't even have to think about it. "Just tell them to notify Buffy Summers at the IWC in Cleveland that Faith is 'five by five' and hangin' with some guys that Riley would have gotten along great with. Just don't send some military guy to deliver the message. B has issues with authority." She didn't say anything about the fact that it might cause Buffy and Willow to level a military base to get her back.

"What does that mean?" the science geek asked.

"Doesn't matter. What matters is that B will know that I'm okay."

Dr. Weir nodded and wrote down the message to send to General O'Neill with the day's data burst. She didn't see the light in Faith's eyes or the way the gleam in them caused John Sheppard to narrow his gaze on their visitor.

----------

Jack was fed up with SGA-1. Every time they went through the damn gate they came back with some new person. And this time the person was from Earth. As if he didn't have enough problems. Hammond would probably call it karma. And now he had to send Danny to deliver a message to the girl's friends because apparently her friends had issues with the military. He'd gotten their files from the Pentagon and they were suspiciously lacking any real information other than their stats. And something about the city where they'd lived until two years ago was tugging at his memory. He just couldn't figure out why the town of Sunnydale, California sounded so familiar to him. But he couldn't wait any longer. The girl's friends needed to be told she was safe and would be home soon.

He looked at his best friend. "I don't want to send you Danny. But this girl has issues with authority and might not react well to seeing a military uniform. Besides, the cover story is that this girl, Faith, was found by you, in the woods near where you were camping for the week. She said to say she's fine and is hangin' with some friends that Riley would have gotten along great with. Her words, not mine."

Daniel sighed. He really hated being a civilian sometimes.

----------

The second he pulled up to the address Jack had written on the folder he knew something was off. The place was a mansion and above the wrought iron gate that kept him out were the letters IWC. He pushed past his unease though, and pressed the button on the radio box by the driver's window.

"Who are you?" a voice immediately asked over the connection.

"Um…hello. My name is Daniel Jackson. I've come to speak to a…Buffy Summers regarding Faith Lehane."

"You know Faith? You've seen her? She's okay?"

"Um…" He didn't get a chance to say anything else because the gates swung open and he pulled up the drive, stopping in front of a set of steps leading up to a great mahogany door.

He didn't even get the chance to knock before he was ushered into the mansion by a tall, young brunette. "Hi! I'm Dawn Summers, Buffy's sister. She's in here with Willow waiting for you." She led him toward a room off to the side of the grand entry way and he was immediately greeted by the sight of hundreds of books. Some were very old from the look of them. But it was the young woman pacing the room that really caught his attention. The door shut behind him and he jumped slightly.

The red head in a tall wingback chair looked at him. "Hello Dr. Jackson. I'm Willow Rosenberg and that's Buffy Summers. You know where Faith is."

"Yes. She asked me to let you know that she's okay. I found her in the woods of Colorado, not far from where I was camping. She was beaten and dehydrated so I took her to the hospital in Colorado Springs. She said to tell you," Daniel looked down at the note he'd made, "that she's five by five and hangin' with some guys that Riley would have gotten along great with. I'm not sure what that means, but she said you would understand."

He didn't even see the blonde move before her hand was on the phone and she was shouting orders into it. "I don't give a damn if he's meeting with God, I want to talk to the President right now."

Something had just gone horribly wrong and he didn't know what but when he tried to back out of the room he found himself stuck in place from the gaze that Willow Rosenberg was directing at him. "I'm very sorry about this Dr. Jackson, but unfortunately Faith's little message means that she's inside a military base which means you must be military. You won't be leaving until we get this matter resolved, because really, you don't want to try and keep Faith against her will. I might have to do something rash if that's what happening. Something like level a military base."

----------

There were days when being leader of the free world just wasn't worth the aggravation. Days when he got calls from an irate Buffy Summers, Senior Slayer and one of the twelve that made up the head of the new IWC, were one of them. When she called him directly instead of his liason, there was a serious problem. Apparently Faith Lehane had been found, after nearly two months of frantic searching on behalf of the IWC, on another planet. And now she was in Atlantis. Which meant explanations all around. Telling Jack and SG-1 about vampires and demons was not going to be fun. And Buffy Summers would not be satisfied until she saw that Faith was fine with her own two eyes. That meant getting security clearance, not just for her and Faith, but her sister, Rosenberg, Harris, and Giles. Because where she went, they inevitably followed. He picked up the phone and began the process, knowing it would only take minutes. The next call he made was to his liason with the IWC. "Get me Graham Miller."

----------

Two days later Jack stood tall and straight awaiting the arrival of a group of people he was to give all information on the Stargate program to. Captain Graham Miller had just arrived and was standing next to him. He had yet to find out anything more about Buffy Summers or the people traveling with her than the files said. And Miller was one tight-lipped SOB. Getting any information out of him was impossible.

An airman opened the door and Daniel was practically shoved into the room, causing the sober Captain next to him to snicker. He stared, stunned, as a petite blonde stormed in behind his linguist. "Where the hell is Faith? And you better not have experimented on her or I swear I'll have Willow level this mountain with a flick of her wrist."

Laughter poured out of Miller's mouth and Jack stared in shock at the man who'd barely said two words since his arrival, let alone cracked a smile. "It's good to see you too, Buffy. Riley and Sam said to tell you hello."

"You better tell me that Faith's okay, Graham Miller. We both know that I can kick your ass."

He smiled. "No need to remind me. It's been years and I still have bruises from the last time we sparred. And all intel says that she's fine."

Jack was fed up. "I hate to interrupt this little lover's reunion, but could one of you tell me why the hell the President is bowing and scraping to a group of teenagers."

He shifted slightly when a pair of angry hazel eyes swung his direction, but was spared when Miller interrupted. "Buffy, let it go. We're here for a reason and that's Faith. Let it go." He held out of chair for her and indicated for the rest of the Scoobies to take a seat. He saw General O'Neill nod to Daniel to do the same. The rest of SG-1 came through the door just as the General was about to shut it. Sam muttered a quick apology for all of them and they took seats next to Daniel. Jack sat at the end of the table between the two groups.

"Let me start by saying that the President does not bow and scrape to anyone, General O'Neill. Ms. Summers and her friends are just as experienced as any team you have at saving the world."

That caused a few startled glances between SG-1. The people across from them were barely more than teenagers with the exception of Rupert Giles. "From what?" Mitchell asked.

"Not all the things that are a threat come from the stars. Some come from right here on earth. I know this is going to be asking a lot but please suspend all thoughts of science and the laws of physics while I tell you about vampires, demons, and the girls who are destined to fight them."

----------

It took nearly four hours for everyone's questions to be answered and the two worlds to be brought up to date on each other. O'Neill could tell that the guests in his conference room took the whole concept of aliens far better than he and his former team did the existence of the monsters that the IWC dealt with. Girls, destined to save the world. He'd never hear the end of it from Carter. Go Girl Power! Now here they were, standing in front of the Stargate, a group of civilians waiting to take their first step into a new galaxy to retrieve a friend. He really hated his job some days. And he certainly didn't envy the president.

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"Incoming wormhole! It's General O'Neill's IDC, ma'am."

"Open the iris!"

Elizabeth had been briefed on who was coming through the Stargate to Atlantis and she'd questioned Faith intensely when she learned exactly what the young woman was. Faith answered the questions without arguing, excited at the prospect of her friends being allowed to come retrieve her, but at the same time she was disappointed. She'd spent the past two days attached at the hip to Ronon and John. She didn't want to be away from them for more than a few minutes at a time and there was still the fact that she waiting to find out if she was pregnant. It was still too soon to tell. The fact that they hadn't used any protection since returning to Atlantis only reinforced the possibility. Thankfully the President had given his okay for the Scoobies to stay until the next Daedalus run, which was three weeks away. Three weeks with her friends before they left and she stayed behind. She hadn't told anyone other than Elizabeth of her desire to stay, but she knew Ronon wouldn't let her go without a fight. He called her his. She never belonged to anyone before, never would have allowed a man to make that claim once upon a time. But he made her feel safe. And then there was John who was just as stubborn as she was and challenged her in every way. They clashed…frequently, each of them a dominant personality, but Ronon tempered them, always calm. It was the perfect relationship and she'd never had one of those. They all just seemed to fit, to click in the same way Buffy had with Angel.

Sighing she watched as the wormhole engaged and then there they were, the only friends she'd ever known, despite the things she'd done to them. And Xander was carrying a bag she just knew had a pair of leather pants and her favorite dagger in it. Dawn was the first to run forward though, throwing her arms around her.

"Faith!" Dawn was crying and hugging her tight.

"Hey, Dawnie," she said, having adopted everybody's nickname for Buffy's little sis. She pulled back and looked Dawn over, gaze stopping at the sight of a small railroad spike piercing a heart peeking out over the top of her hip hugging jeans. There was a name tattooed there too. Spike. "Nice tattoo. He'd love it. Then he'd turn around and bitch you out about being too young for a tat."

Dawn nodded, then stepped back, letting Xander, Giles, and Willow get their hugs in. Buffy was the last one to step forward. She didn't say anything, just stood there, staring at Faith for just a minute before lashing out. Her fist caught Faith across the jaw. There were two simultaneous shouts of anger and guards holding two men back immediately got Buffy's attention as Faith massaged her jaw.

"Don't disappear on me again."

"Hey, Wills made the portal. It wasn't like I meant for that demon to push me into it."

"Yeah, well…just be more careful next time. We're sisters. The last two chosen. None of the others get that and if you weren't around…"

"Same here B."

Buffy smiled and nodded toward Ronon and John. "You've only been here what two days and already with the admirers. That's working fast, even for you."

"Yeah, well you know my motto."

"Get some, get gone."

"Not anymore."

"Then it must be 'Want. Take. Have.' Because damn if both of those guys don't look damn possessive and protective." Buffy's eyes widened suddenly, as if the way the two men were practically growling over Faith had just registered.

"Possessive. Really possessive. After only two days. Faith. You aren't thinking…"

"B, we need to talk."

Buffy shook her head. "No. You can't! You have to come back. It's your job."

Giles put his hand on Buffy's shoulder, calming her. "Training room?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah." Faith sighed and pushed Buffy out of the room. "Come on B. Let's spar." Faith turned to Elizabeth. "Can you…?" she asked nodding toward her remaining friends. Elizabeth nodded. She knew Faith had wanted to avoid this as long as possible, but her friends weren't stupid and John and Ronon were acting very possessive.

While Faith led Buffy out Elizabeth turned to the others, noticing out of the corner of her eye the way John and Ronon slipped unseen from the room. She caught Mr. Giles' eye and saw that he had seen them too. So not completely unnoticed. "Why don't I have Major Lorne show you to your quarters. And he'll make sure that Faith's things get to her room."

----------

John and Ronon weren't sure what they were going to witness when Faith led her friend, Buffy, into the training room but the violent fight that ensued was not it. Neither girl held back. They attacked each other with a vengeance that John had never witnessed before. And Ronon had only seen battle like this between blood enemies, not two people who claimed to be friends.

"Is that all you got, B? Come on. Don't hold back." Faith smacked her friend across the face with her fist and both John and Ronon cringed.

And it began again, the taunts getting meaner, the fighting becoming more and more vicious until finally the blonde called halt and both girls collapsed next to each other on the mats, blood drying in various places on their bruised, sweat soaked bodies. "Damn, I really don't know how I'm going to explain this to the guys," Faith said, indicating the bruises that were starting to form on her hands, face, and body. "And then there's whole thing where they'll be gone by tomorrow night."

"So you really are with both of them?"

Faith sighed. "Yeah, I guess. It's not like I meant for it to happen. This is me we're talking about, the queen of one night stands. I've never been in a relationship that lasted more than a night. What the hell do I know about it? I gotta tell ya, B. I'm scared shitless. It's only been three damn days, but I don't think I've ever felt so safe as I do with them. Not to mention the fact that I'm probably gonna have a kid and I don't know whose it is. I'm in way over my head here."

Buffy laughed. "I never thought I'd see the day where you'd fall in love. Let alone with two guys. But you've always been so much stronger than me, Faith. You don't need people. Not like I do. If I didn't have the gang I would have been dead a long time ago. You're lucky. You choose to have people in your life. But if for some reason they weren't, you would still be okay."

"Who said anything about love?" Faith snapped.

Buffy just looked at her. "You didn't have to. Remember, you're looking at the queen of the angst ridden, drama filled, love stories. Two vampire boyfriends and I didn't get a happy ending with either of them."

"Is that why you had this big freak out back there?"

"I guess that's part of it. I mean, I couldn't make Angel stay and I didn't realize what I had with Spike until it was too late. And then, even though he wanted to stay he couldn't." Tears started falling down Buffy's cheeks. "I told him I loved him, you know. That day in the hellmouth. But he didn't believe me."

"B, if there's anything that vamp did believe in it was that you loved him, even before you said the words. He just wanted you out of there, safe, so that he could go without worrying about you."

Buffy wiped at her eyes. "Enough about my spectacular failures at love. I want to know how this came about. You fell into the portal…"

"Well, when I came out the other side I was in the middle of a field…"

----------

She spent three hours with Buffy in the training room between their sparring and the conversations they had. She hadn't realized how much she and B needed to bond, to bury the hatchet once and for all. She knocked on the door of John's room and when it opened, was surprised to see both him and Ronon sitting there, John on the bed and Ronon in a chair with his hands clasped, head bowed. Something was wrong.

"Before this goes any further, I think we deserve the truth Faith. What are you?"

She was so stunned by the question she couldn't speak.

"We saw you and your friend Buffy in the training room. Not even Ronon can hit that hard. And look at you. You're bruised everywhere."

Faith cringed. She and B had managed to clean themselves up pretty good, but she should have known that her fly boy and warrior wouldn't be satisfied until they knew exactly how she came to be so bruised. She turned away and pulled off her clothing, wincing as she stretched her left side which was mottled with bruises. B always went for her weak spot. Immediately she felt rough hands on her stomach, cradling her against a large chest and she knew Ronon was behind her. John was to her right, helping her take the shirt off, his eyes cataloguing the ways that she was hurt. "Why did you let her do this to you?" he asked, concerned.

"Don't worry, fly boy. I gave as good as I got. And it will all be gone by tomorrow morning."

"It's not right Faith, for friends to fight like this," Ronon said, unbuttoning her pants and sliding them down her hips. John bent and removed her shoes, socks, and pants while Ronon removed her bra. Sheppard placed as kiss just above her pantyline before removing her underwear slowly. They stripped out of their own clothes then and moved her slowly into the bathroom to take a shower. The water was hot and they wouldn't let her do anything for herself. Sandwiched between them, they washed her hair and body, kissing and licking her skin occasionally. And then Ronon's hand slipped between her thighs and he used his fingers to bring her to an orgasm while John used his mouth on her breasts. As she came down she had to be held up by them, her body drained.

When they finally made it to the bed she was dressed in one of John's t-shirts and a pair of underwear that Dawn had packed for her. She sat there, staring at her hands for several minutes unsure where to start. Would they even want her after they knew the truth?

"Faith?" She looked up into John's eyes. "Nothing you can say is going to change this," he said, indicating himself and Ronon. "Nothing. So it's not the normal way I'd go about meeting someone, and it's definitely not a normal relationship by Earth standards, but I don't care. So it's only been three days since we met. I've never been so…in tune with anyone."

"Sheppard is right. I feel…protective of both of you. You are mine. I can feel it that we're supposed to be together."

Faith gave a bitter laugh. "You don't know me though. Not really. You see pretty packaging and a girl who really likes sex. You don't know why I am the way I am. I'm pretty screwed up in the head. Not as much as I used to be, but still really bad. I'm a murderer you know." She got up off the bed and took her dagger out of the bag. "I used this knife to kill people. I tortured someone who was only trying to help me. Told him all the ways that I knew to make him hurt. And then demonstrated on him. He died last year. He broke me out of prison to help a friend and he told me that he forgave me. He shouldn't have. I didn't deserve it. And he was a way better human being that I'll ever be. Yet he died. How fucked is that?" She paced slowly. "And that's only part of it. Elizabeth knows the whole story. The head guys on Earth told her. She's going to have a meeting tomorrow with you about me, about all of us. But I can sum it up pretty good. I'm what's called a Slayer."

"What's a Slayer? A warrior? Because you fight like a warrior."

"Yeah, you could call us that. Slayers are girls who are chosen to fight evil, vampires, demons, etc. You name the evil I go fight it."

They both just stared at her and she gave a slightly hysterical laugh. "I know it sounds crazy…"

"Actually it makes a lot of sense. Why wouldn't there be vampires and demons? We deal with aliens on a daily basis."

And that was all it took. They accepted her explanation with very few questions, before pulling her down onto the bed between them. It was a tight fit, given the size of the bed, but they made it work.

----------

Three weeks passed by quicker than Faith would have liked. She wanted more time with the gang, but they had to go back to Earth. And she was staying. This was where she belonged, with her two warriors, and the child that was growing inside her. Carson had just confirmed it that morning. She was pregnant. And it didn't matter who the father was because the child was going to be loved, no matter what.

Elizabeth had found them better accomodations. Apparently the ancients had family style apartments, completely with beds big enough to hold four people. And there was already a room set aside for her baby.

Now, though, she was standing by the Daedalus, waiting. Everyone was getting ready to leave and it was time to say their goodbyes. She hated that. Saying goodbye. It felt too final, especially given the lives that her friends led. The life she led.

Dawn cried again, hugging her tight before running onto the ship so that she wouldn't make a scene. Xander and Willow both hugged her, wished her luck, and in Willow's case, promised to magic her some things she would need for the baby. She surprised everyone by throwing her arms around Giles in a tight hug. The man was stiff for a moment before hugging her back, telling her that he was proud that she finally came into her own and found a place for herself. Saying so long to B was the hardest though.

Buffy was silent and Faith didn't know where to start. They had such a past together that neither knew what to say. Finally Faith held out her hand. "See ya 'round B." She was startled when Buffy grabbed her hand and pulled her close.

"We're sisters. No matter what. The chosen two. You better damn well keep in touch. Invite me to the wedding. I know those two will make an honest woman of you at some point. I also want pictures. And visits. And I sure as hell want to meet my niece or nephew." And then Buffy hugged her, tight, for several minutes before releasing her and walking onto the ship. Faith stopped her though.

"Hey B. Do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Say hi to Angel for me, yeah. And tell him I'm finally okay."

"Yeah. I'll do that. Take care, Faith."

Faith nodded and watched as the door to the ship shut behind Buffy. Several minutes later they took off and Faith watched until the doors of the shuttle bay closed. She didn't move until John and Ronon both came up behind her, John's arms wrapping around her, hands on her stomach.

"You okay?"

Sure she was sad to see the gang leave, but this was where she belonged. She was home. She smiled and then turned to face her lovers. "Five by five. Now take me to bed."

Ronon picked her up and lightly placed her over his shoulder and began to walk toward their apartment. John was right next to him. "What does that mean anyways?"

Faith just smiled. Oh yeah, she was right where she belonged.


End file.
